Pokrajac Replaces Perosh, Meets Soszynski at UFC 131

Igor Pokrajac (above, center) meets Krzysztof Soszynski on June 11. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Headlined by a heavyweight No.1 contender bout between Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos, UFC 131 goes down June 11 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Shane Carwin will also make his return at the event, as the former title challenger squares off with debuting Norse heavyweight Jon Olav Einemo. Additionally, Kenny Florian will fight his first bout at featherweight; the former two-time lightweight title contender squares off with Nova Uniao representative Diego Nunes.

Pokrajac has won two of his last three outings, but holds an overall record of 2-3 inside the Octagon. The Croat began his pro career in 2003, making his UFC debut in 2009. After back-to-back losses to Vladimir Matyushenko and James Te-Huna, Pokrajac rebounded with a victory over James Irvin at UFC Live 2 in August. Stephan Bonnar would get the better of Pokrajac in his next bout, but the 32-year-old again rebounded to take out Todd Brown in his most recent Octagon appearance, finishing the American with strikes in their UFC Live 3 contest.

Soszynski, 32, made his UFC debut in 2008 following a stint on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8. The “Polish Experiment” rattled off three straight wins to start his Octagon career before falling to Brandon Vera in 2009. Since that defeat, the Polish Canadian has alternated wins and losses, first defeating Bonnar at UFC 110 via doctor stoppage, and then losing by TKO to Bonnar four months later at UFC 116. Most recently, Soszynski bested Pokrajac’s countryman, Goran Reljic, at UFC 122 in November.